In a network, in particular in a wireless network, it is required to keep every node updated with the currently used value of network configuration parameters to maintain a correct operation for each node of the network. Indeed, it is possible that, due to unscheduled events, like a change in the interference spectrum or location, or due to scheduled events, like a periodic change of cryptographic key, a maintenance entity needs to communicate a new value for a network configuration parameter, like a channel identifier, a network identifier, node identifier or role, identifier of a new coordinator/maintenance entity inside the network, a cryptographic key or a key seed.
However, in some networks, there can be some nodes that are limited in terms of reception opportunities. As an illustration, in a ZigBee network, there may be ZigBee Green Power Devices (ZGPDs), which do not have a battery and can receive only at unscheduled opportunities. For example, a ZGPD can be a battery-less switch that can only receive for a short time once it is actuated by a user and has transmitted its signal. Another example of a ZGPD is a periodically-reporting sensor, harvesting energy from its environment, e.g. by means of a photovoltaic cell. Because of their energy budget limitations, those devices are also not able to discover the new parameters via an active search.
Given that these devices cannot receive a configuration signal at any time, if a reconfiguration of the network occurs in the interval between two reception opportunities of a limited device, this limited device would be unaware of the change in the parameter value. This is likely to cause the limited device to be excluded from the network, since it would still use the previous version of the network parameters and is likely not to be heard by its neighbours which have been updated. For the limited device to be reintegrated in the network, it requires a special process which is very likely to require manual intervention from the user, can be long and is thus a large maintenance burden.